The opening music sets the tone for this great rock opera. I have seen a touring stage edition of JCS starring an older Ted Neeley but I won't make any comparisons between the stage version and the movie. And yes, I am Catholic so it is hard to review this movie without also thinking about it from the perspective of my faith. I loved the music and how it flowed from scene to scene. I loved the simplicity of the set; almost all of the movie is shot outside in Israel. The combination of the rock music and the lack of elaborate sets and scenes makes for a very dramatic and original movie. The movie does a great job of showing JC as a human being and the struggles that he would have had. Carl Anderson as Judas deserves for him to be a co-star, not a supporting actor. Just as I mentioned about Ted Neeley's depiction of JC, Carl Anderson also does a fantastic job of conveying the complexity of Judas' emotions. The movie is dated in that the lip syncing is very poor at times, but the singing is excellent.

This rock opera is an adaptation of the stage performance. When it was released in 1973, I went to see it at the local cinema with a friend. We exited the theater singing the thoroughly catchy songs. Then we saw it six more times that week. Obviously, we loved it. The reasons are many.First, the entire production is innovative. The very creative staging includes some outdoor settings that are minimalistic. The score uses various styles, even honky tonk. The film employs anachronistic elements that give it a timeless feeling. Though the story has biblical sources, it uses comedy and some hard rock music. And just being an opera--with all words being sung--is a huge gamble.The cast is wonderful. The songs are not easy to sing, but the vocalists come through with flying colors. This production promised the genius of Andrew Lloyd Weber (and Tim Rice) that was to follow. No wonder it was so compelling.

Every part of this movie is fabulous but I'll go though my favourite points.Songs: I am a superfan of Andrew Llyod Webber and Tim Rice and I especially love Jesus Christ Superstar for it's originality. Direction: Norman Jewison did a fabulous job with direction. It is filmed on location with a stunning backdrop and the style of filming is very artistic for 1973. Even though it's an old movie it feels timeless to me.Cast: Ted Neely gives a fantastic performance as Jesus but it is Carl Anderson as Judas who will leave you in an emotional state. Carl brings depth and emotion to the character. Both him and Ted have stunning voices. I also love Barry Dennon as Pilot who gives a great performance. However I especially love the voices of the high priests especially Ciaphas, his low voice gives me chills every time he sings.Overall: This is one of my favourite movie musicals and I would recommend to everyone. It has a wide array of characters that keep you entertained throughout.

I held off watching Jesus Christ Superstar for the longest time. I could not understand how Jesus and the apostles could be portrayed as hippies, which I thought was disrespectful and irreverent. I tried many times to start watching the film but found it difficult to get through those radical opening sequences featuring more of Judas than Christ. However, when I finally did get through that first song number, I found myself quite engrossed in the way the story of Christ's Passion was told and enacted in rock songs by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. Yes, the sets and props were strangely anachronistic (like t-shirts, postcard racks and machine guns), but I guess that symbolizes the timelessness of the story.The song "Gethsemane" was so vital, it is just breathtaking to hear. The lyrics capture the conflict within Jesus at that contemplative moment in the Garden perfectly. This song is Ted Neeley's high point in the whole film as Jesus Christ. Another song that moves me is "Could We Start Again Please." With a melody so simple and lyrics so bare, the emotional punch of this song is astounding. It moved me to tears, honestly, when I hear Yvonne Elliman (Mary Magdalene) and Philip Toubus (Simon Peter) sing those earnest words which echo our own sentiments with our own faults:"I've been living to see you Dying to see you, but it shouldn't be like this This was unexpected, what do I do now? Could we start again please?I think you've made your point now You've even gone a bit too far to get the message home Before it gets too frightening, we ought to call a halt So could we start again please?"The Judas character plays a co-equal role in this interpretation and Carl Anderson so passionately portrays him. We see and hear a lot from him that was why this play was controversial back in the day. The words he sings vivify the conflicts within this disturbed man. Magdalene's love song "I Don't Know How to Love Him" takes on a different meaning when Judas sang it before his climactic suicide song. Talking about hanging, that scene was so chillingly and realistically shot.Special mentions would be the odd but welcome comedy respite provided by Josh Mostel as King Herod, and the unusual contrast of the deep voice of Bob Bingham vis a vis the falsetto voice of Kurt Yagjihan, as the high priests Caiaphas and Annas. The 39 Lashes scene with Barry Dennen as Pontius Pilate was also very memorable.